Right in Front of You
by rowlinghermione
Summary: Hermione's hopes and dreams suddenly vanished with this new secret that she must hold onto or risk destroying everything she has ever worked for. How will she ever be able to tell her friends what she has just learned?
1. Who am I?

**Right in Front of You**

**_Life  
It can twist your heart  
Put you in the dark  
I was cold and lonely_**

**Chapter 1: Her Father**

"Mother… Nooooooooooooo!" Hermione screamed as a green light flashed right in front of her. She ran through the house, up to her bedroom, and over to the window. Looking outside, she saw a horde of death eaters. Crying, she grabbed a piece of parchment and split it in two. She went over to her owl Hermes, named after the messenger of the Gods.

_Harry, HELP! Death eaters are attacking my house. -Hermione._

Next she scribbled one to Dumbledore.

_Prof Dumbledore, Death eaters at my home. Mom and dad are dead. Trying to hold them off now. Help! -Hermione._

Hermione quickly got up and opened her window. "Fly like you've never done before," she whispered to her owl. "Now, let the battle begin." Hermione threw a few curses at the circle of death eaters.

A pop came from behind her. Whipping around she found none other than Voldemort standing in front of her.

"You!" Her tone was savage. "You're the reason my parents are dead!" She pointed her wand at him.

"Expelliarmus," said Voldemort. Hermione's wand flew into his hand. "Your parents aren't dead," he harshly told her. "They are alive. Those muggles were not your parents, you silly girl. After all of those things I've heard from the Malfoys about you. There was no way that they could possibly have given birth to such a rare and talented child. I thought you would have been smarter. Those muggles were nothing more than adoptive parents. Your mother decided that it would be for the best that you not know about us so she left you here. She didn't know that I was alive at the time. She thought that you should grow up and live a life without war, without any living memory of me. A life where you would be normal just like everyone else. But you will never be normal, my daughter, because you know your past. You have the power now. The second you become sixteen and seven months you will be the most powerful witch in the whole entire world: stronger than even our dear Headmaster or Harry Potter. That's should be tomorrow I believe. Oh! Look at the time! We have to go before the Order arrives. You've sent for their help, have you not?" Voldemort turned toward the door, expecting her to follow him. When she did not, he turned toward her. His eyebrows rose when he noticed that she had fainted on her bedroom floor. "That's an odd reaction." He picked her up, bridal style and then disapparated to where his Death Eaters were waiting for him.

"Have you finished, my lord?" Lucius questioned.

"Deatheaters? Leave us at once. Malfoy, not you." The Death Eaters quickly disapparated from the scene.

"Yes, my lord?" Lucius slowly approached his master.

"I want you to take her with you. I can't have her traveling with me, it would be too dangerous, and she is too important as is. Here," Voldemort said, passing Lucius his daughter reluctantly. "I should have been there for her all these years. She never got to know her mother or me. We should have been there to support her. Marissa was such a dumb woman. She should have taken her back, given her the life she deserved. Well, good luck on your mission, my daughter." With that, Voldemort turned around and disapparated. Hermione lay unconscious in Lucius' strong arms.


	2. I think I've Changed

**Right in Front of You**

**Author's note:**

If you have any ideas for a title for this story, please type them in your review. I'd really appreciate it. I don't think this is the brightest title for this story since nothing is 'Right in Front of You.'

Oh, it also takes the place of OOTP.

**Previously on Right in Front of You:**

"Good luck on your mission, my daughter," and with that, he turned around and disapparated. Hermione lay unconscious in Lucius' strong arms.

**Chapter 2**

"When is she going to wake up?" An impatient Draco inquired. (AN: I wrote Draco b/c his father is also a Malfoy).

"Draco," Narcissa criticized. "Recovery does not happen quickly. There is no spell to help her now."

"Can I at least go play some quidditch? Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy are waiting for me downstairs."

"No, she doesn't know me."

"And she knows me?" Draco sarcastically interrupted.

"Yes. At least more than she knows me."

"Do you really think she's going to be happy waking up with her favorite enemy staring down at her?"

"At least you're not a foot away! You're all the way across the room!"

"Narcissa!" Lucius' shout came from his office.

"Oh. Your father is calling for me. Could you just use this rag to wet her forehead? Thanks." Narcissa hadn't let him answer.

"But…" Draco started, but his mother was already out of the room. "Okay. Umm… Hermione?" He gently shook her shoulder. "Hermione?"

"Dad?" She whispered without opening her eyes.

"No," he answered. She opened her eyes and shot up from the bed.

"What are you doing?" She rudely questioned. "I'm in Malfoy Manor, am I not?"

"Yes."

"Okay, where is he?"

"He?"

"Yeah. Voldemort." Draco involuntarily gasped at the name. "Don't tell me. You're scared of saying your master's name, _Draco_?"

"He's not here," Draco said.

"I'll kill him," she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me? I didn't hear that."

"Nothing. Where's the quidditch field? I feel in the mood to play."

"Umm… follow me. Oh, you might want to change first," Draco told her as he turned his back from her. Hermione took about one second to change for she barely needed to lift a finger. Basically, she thought of what she wanted to wear, and she was instantly wearing it.

"Done. Now that was just cool!" Hermione exclaimed.

"How did you change so fast?" Draco asked, obviously surprised. Draco turned around to face her. He involuntarily gasped at her outfit. She looked hot! She wore a light pink top that showed some cleavage with short sleeves. The shirt also showed about an inch or two worth of stomach. Her jeans were dark flares. She also wore a brown belt with a really cool buckle. "I- wow…umm…eh…yeah- follow me." He was having a hard time making words come out of his mouth. He had never expected Hermione Granger to actually look decent let alone be that hot!

"Wait. Do you have a mirror?"

"Yeah." His brain wasn't thinking.

"Okay. Where is it?" She rolled her eyes at Draco's incompetence.

"Bathroom. It's right in there." He pointed to the door near her bed.

Listening to him, Hermione walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Screaming, she stared at herself. Her hair was no longer the bushy hair that she had had the day before. It was still brunette though. Looking closely, she noticed that the shape of her face had changed slightly. What was going on?? Draco came into the bathroom when he had heard the scream.

"What's wrong?"

"Me! I don't look like myself!"

"What do you mean?" So Draco hadn't noticed. He was a guy and a little slow at that.

She glared at him. "You're slow. Remind me to ask Voldemort about that."

"Okay?"

"Okay!" She turned toward him. "So? Quidditch?" Oddly, she felt as though she had a lot of power so she wasn't really afraid to speak out. She was after all the most influential person in the house as of this moment.

She followed him down the stairs, through the hallway, around the corner, down about four floors using an elevator, through the game room, and into the adjacent living room. "Come on guys," Draco told Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and Blaise.

"She's coming with us?" Pansy snobbishly asked, not knowing why Hermione was there.

"Obviously she's coming with us," Draco snapped at her.

"Why's the mudblood coming with?" Blaise questioned.

"Who's the mudblood?" Hermione asked.

"You are," Blaise told her.

"Blaise, shut up! Do you know who you are talking to?" Draco exclaimed. "No, you don't!"

"Calm down, Draco," Pansy looked terrified as she said this.

"Yeah, Drakey. Calm down!" Hermione glared at Pansy. Pansy shifted her feet and glanced toward Draco.

"Hermione, would you please stop?" Draco asked her.

"Oh, so now just because you know that my father's Voldemort, you act like you're my friend? Nice one, _Ferret_."

Draco opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He placed his hand on his wand, but thought better of it. Then he growled, "the field is this way." He turned around, making his robe swish backwards and walked out of the room.

As they walked, Hermione noticed Lucius Malfoy was about to get into the elevator (it's a magical one duh). "Mr. Malfoy!" She called. He turned around to face her. "Guys wait up." As they waited for her, she went over to Lucius.

"Yes?" He didn't like wasting his own time. "What do you need?"

"I actually wanted to know if you knew why my appearance had changed in the past day." She ignored the tone of his voice.

"The Dark Lord thinks that your mother had put a glamour spell on you. Clearly it wasn't that good being that almost nothing has changed. Except your taste- you definitely weren't wearing anything like that yesterday."

"Okay. Thank you Mr. Malfoy for your time." She turned around and walked back to the group. "Well? Are we going or not?"


	3. Catch me when I Fall

**Right in Front of You**

**Author's note:**

If you have any ideas for a title for this story, please type them in the review. I'd really appreciate it. I don't think this is the brightest title at the moment for this story since nothing is 'Right in Front of You.'

**Previously on Right in Front of You:**

Draco opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He placed hi hand on his wand, but thought better of it. Then, he growled, "The field is this way." He turned around, making his robe swish backwards, and walked out of the room.

**Chapter 3**

"You play quidditch Hermione? I didn't know that. What do you play?" Draco asked her as they walked onto the field. He tried not to look at her for she was wearing that same muggle outfit as she had earlier.

"Chaser or keeper," she replied. "London is only two miles east, right?"

Draco glanced at Blaise to see his reaction. Blaise just shrugged so Draco was forced to answer. "Yeah." Blaise whispered something into Draco's ear, and Draco nodded. "Hermione, you can play chaser against Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle will play keepers, except they can also play chasers. Blaise and I will be the seekers."

"Okay." Hermione agreed and nodded. The quaffle was thrown into the air. She was the first up but instead of going after the quaffle, she flew as quickly as she could east. Blaise and Draco had expected this, and already had their wands in hand.

Draco shouted to her, "I wouldn't go any farther, Granger."

"I am no longer a Granger," she rebuked, "and you don't know a thing about me. Try to stop me!" By now, Draco and Blaise were quickly catching up to her. "Get away!" A gigantic claw appeared in front of Draco. Luckily, he was quick enough to dive out of the way before it caught him.

"What are you doing?" Draco yelled at her.

"What? Your father didn't teach you any dark magic?" Hermione taunted. "A bookworm like me needs to learn it in order to fight the dark side. How can I win if I don't know what the other side does?" She raised her arms and made a swirling motion towards Blaise. The wind blew so hard that Blaise was ripped off his broom.

"Hermione? You don't really want this, do you?" For a moment Draco actually looked sexy, but Hermione shook the thought off as soon as it came for he was the enemy. She raised her right arm, making a circular motion. Soon enough, a small tornado was brewing between the two of them.

Hermione only meant this to scare Draco, but when she tried to keep it small the storm pushed her commands away. She was forced to use all of her energy to stop this huge tornado that she had created. As the tornado kept growing bigger, she yelled: "Will not… give up now… Losing control… Won't lose control… can't…" The tornado started to dwindle, and almost at once, it had disappeared. Slipping off of her broom because of her exhaustion, she fell through the sky. The ground grew closer and closer, and about one hundred feet away from the ground, she blacked out.


	4. The Mental Scream

**Right in Front of You  
Chapter 4**

"Are you sure Draco?" Narcissa asked him yet again. They stood in the hall in front of Hermione's room.

"I'm positive. She can control the air. She grew mad that we were following her and then… the wind blew Blaise off his broom. When he had fallen, she started to make a tornado form. It was terrifying. The power of it took all of her energy so she fell. She was lucky because the storm was to hit me. I had managed to get away from it when I noticed that she was not on her broom. I fell into a dive and caught her inches from the ground," Draco recalled once more.

"You do know that you will have to tell the Dark Lord about this, right?"

"Yes."

"Draco?" Hermione's weak shout was barely heard.

Draco looked from his mother to the door. "Don't worry, Draco. You will be fine," Narcissa whispered.

"Yes, Hermione?" Draco walked into the room, and softly whispered.

"Need… help… Harry…" She whispered hoarsely.

"Hermione?" Draco begged her.

She started to shake uncontrollably, and mentally screamed. A scream so loud and powerful that Draco heard it. It took him a few seconds to realize that she wasn't speaking. His head felt as though it were on fire. She could hear him, Voldemort, sneaking around her mind. He had sent her the image of Harry burning in the flames, and she knew that she had been the one to put him there.

"Hermione, please?" Draco begged. The pain built up so badly that his head was about to burst. "Stop, please…"

'Harry,' she mentally screamed. Then the scream stopped and she spoke, "Get Harry. Quickly. Need to see him…"

"Calm down, Hermione. Everything will be fine."

"No. He betrayed them… I have to warn them." Hermione stood up, and tried to run to the door. Instead, she fell forward and had to grab onto Draco for support.

"Hermione, sit down. You aren't strong enough."

"I'm fine," she flinched as she replied. Her ankle must have been broken or something, but she knew she had to go to her best friend. "I'll be fine." Slowly she made her way to the wall, and used it to guide her toward the fireplace. She pinched the floo powder and said, "Number twelve, Grimmald Place."

Under his breath Draco muttered: "beautiful, yet stupid."


	5. Betrayed Part 2

**Right in Front of You**

**Chapter 5**

**Author's Note:**

In the last chapter, before Hermione said, "He betrayed them," Voldemort sent her a picture of Number 12 Grimmald Place.

**Answers to Reviews:**

Thank you for reviewing,

charmed sisters: The reason Voldemort sent Hermione the image of Harry, was to show her what will happen to Harry if she stays friends with him.

Dumbledor: Thanx for reviewing!

**_Chapter 5: Part 2_**

"Harry?" Hermione cried out, and fell.

"What's wrong?" Lupin asked her, and put out his arm for her to use, just as she fell.

"He… knows," Hermione told him, as she reached the couch.

"What does Harry know?" Lupin questioned.

"Voldemort knows… about Grimmald Place…"

"He found out? Draco. How did you get here?" Lupin questioned and looked at his former student.

"He's my…" Hermione started, "cousin."

"Oh," Lupin replied. "I thought you were muggleborn. Whatever, how did Voldemort find out?"

"Snape… isn't our spy," Hermione answered, and looked down.

"What do you mean?"

"He's spying on us," Hermione said.

"How do you know?" Lupin questioned.

"Connections," Draco intervened.

"Evacuate the building, and warn…" She looked at Draco, and said, "the leader."

"Yes, yes…" Lupin thought out loud. "Draco, you stay with Hermione. Get her out of here." Quickly Lupin left the room to find the other members in the house.

_'Harry?'_ Hermione mentally reached out. _'Stay at the Dursleys. I'll be there soon to explain to you.'_

"Hermione?" Draco asked and waved his hand in front of Hermione's blank face. "We have to go back."

"No," Hermione stubbornly answered.

"Your father's going to attack here soon," Draco's voice pleading her.

"He won't. He knows that I am here, but not what I have said," she answered. She seemed to gain some strength. "Remus? Get out, NOW!" she yelled. "See you later, Draco," she said softly, and she disapparated. _(Yes, she illegally disapparated)._

_The Dursleys:_

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Harry asked her, as he jumped up from the desk, and she started to topple over. Luckily, Harry was quick enough to grab her by the waist.

"Thanks," Hermione told him, their faces about two inches away from each other. He stared at her, taking in her beauty. After about five minutes, Hermione said, "Ummm… Harry? You can let go now," Hermione snapped him back to reality.

"Oh, sorry," Harry said, and guided her to the bed. "Why did you come, I mean, you must have some purpose, in that state."

"What is he feeling, right now?" Hermione asked.

"Who?"

"Voldemort," she impatiently replied.

"He's happy, why?"

"Happy? You're kidding, right?" Harry shook his head. "No, I was right," Hermione started to panic.

"What were you right about?" Harry asked.

"Grimmald Place."

"What about it?"

"He knows where it is," she whispered.

"What!" Harry exclaimed.

"Snape told him."

"We have to warn the Order," Harry made to grab his broom.

"No," Hermione grabbed his arm, and fell off the bed.

"Whoa," Harry said, and grabbed her once again by her waist.

"I already warned them. The Order isn't there. They evacuated, ten minutes ago," Hermione informed him.

"How did you know about him?" Harry asked her, and she looked away from him. He still had her by the waist, so she couldn't go anywhere.

"I… I just knew. Now, I must be going," with that, Hermione disapparated.


	6. The Weasleys

**Right in Front of You**

_Chapter 6_

"She left? What do you mean, she left? Now you've done it! The Dark Lord will have our hides for this," Narcissa yelled at Draco.

"She disapparated! There was nothing I could do!" Draco sat down on the living room couch.

"You could have done plenty! You could have attacked her! You could have alongside apparated with her! Do you have any idea where she went?" Narcissa slowly calmed down.

"No." There was a loud pop, and a tall man with a green robe apparated into the room. (Guess who?)

"Where is my daughter? You told me she was hurt… fell off a broom. Young Draco caught her a food from the ground. Good work. Now, where is she?"

"Not here," Narcissa whispered after she and Draco bowed to their master.

"Not here? Whatever do you mean?" Voldemort's smile faded.

"Young Draco here seems to recall that she went to the Order's headquarters."

"Yes, I remember her going there… Then she broke my connection. Strong witch, she is. But, I thought she came back here." Voldemort told them.

"No," Draco whispered. "Please, don't punish me, my lord," he pleaded. "She is the brightest witch our age. She… she told them that you knew about their headquarters. Then… she disapparated."

"She what? Is she okay? Did she get there whole?" Voldemort's face grew red with anger.

"Please… Master… there was nothing I could do…" Draco pleaded. There was a poping sound, and Hermione fell on top of Draco on the couch.

"Ooops," Hermione said. "Missed my mark. Meant to apparate onto that chair," she told them and pointed to the armchair next to the fire.

"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed.

"Where were you?" Voldemort asked her, half fuming.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Hermione replied. She could feel him try to get into her brain, but she fought him. Hermione's head still on Draco's lap. She shut her eyes, and concentrated on her target, him. Accidentally, she sent him a burst of wind, that knocked Voldemort off his feet.

"What the…?" Voldemort's face full of surprise. He hadn't counted on an invisible curse.

"Beauty, I call it," Hermione looked up into Draco's face. "What the…?" she scrambled up, only to fall because of her leg. Of course, Draco's speed after catching snitches all his life let him catch her around her waist. "Get off me, Malfoy, caz I swear…"

"Are you sure?" Draco asked her.

"Let go, Ferret Boy," Hermione ordered.

"Okay then," Draco let go, and Hermione fell forward. Instead of hitting the ground, Hermione caught herself, and leaned against an invisible wall.

"DRACO!" Narcissa exclaimed.

"What?" Draco replied.

"You dropped her!" Narcissa raged.

"She ordered me to. You said that I couldn't disobey an order," Draco responded.

"I'm going, okay? See ya later," Hermione said, and disapparated.

"How much trouble have you had with her?" Voldemort asked Narcissa.

* * *

"Hey Harry! I didn't expect you to be at Ginny's place," Hermione greeted them.

"You never told us where you were staying, Hermione," Ron stated. "Harry told us that your parents died, but he couldn't tell us where you were staying."

"I'm staying… in Diagon Alley," Hermione lied. "At… the Leaky Cauldron."

"You can come here, you know that?" Ron invited her.

"Yeah, I know… It's just… I need to be near the ministry."

"Oh," Ron said, clearly disappointed.

Hermione, hearing this, quickly told him, "But once we figure all of this out, maybe I can stay."

"My parents already have agreed that they are going to try and adopt you," Ron gleefully told her.

"I wouldn't trouble them," Hermione whispered. "They already have too many mouths to feed."

"Don't worry about that," Ron was so happy that he was nearly jumping up and down.

"Ron, you can barely buy school books! Plus, you wouldn't want to after you found out…" she stopped midsentence, realizing the truth of her words, and a tear fell down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron made to wipe away her tears, but she pushed him away.

"I… I have to go…" Hermione's voice faded, and she disapparated.


	7. Branded

**_Chapter 7_**

"Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed. "Wait up!" She yelled to him as she ran through the hall toward him. (Yes, her ankle is much better).

"Yes?" Malfoy kept walking giving her only his voice.

"Stop! Please?" She begged him while she ran after him. She was gaining on him, quickly.

He halted, sensing her weakness. She didn't have enough time to slow down, and as he turned around she ran straight into him. Malfoy's firebolt flew across the hall, and the two tumbled onto the floor, one on top of the other.

"Oops," Hermione said but didn't move due to the fact that she was half giggling and half crying. Malfoy just lay there, underneath Hermione, waiting for her. They stayed in that position until Hermione spoke, still giggling for some unknown reason. "Sorry, going too fast."

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Malfoy asked and she froze at hearing her name.

"Why would something be wrong?" Hermione questioned, obviously offended as she picked herself up.

"Hermione, you can talk to me, okay?" Malfoy assured her. He stood up, a little more gracefully than her. Hermione turned away from him, and it looked as though she had frozen. Slowly, Malfoy went up to her, and he turned her around. He saw that her face was glistening with tears that crawled down her face. He wiped away her tears with his sleeve, and pulled her into a tight embrace. "What's wrong?"

Hermione's voice broke, and she could barely whisper, "I'm scared. I… I didn't know I could control the air… it's too much. At times, I can't control it." She pondered for a minute or two, deciding what she should say next, and then, "I c…can't even tell my b…best friends. Not even Dumbledore… I can't keep it from them forever though. I'm scared, Draco." It sounded weird when he heard his name from her lips, as though she cared. The wind picked up, and waves of air appeared in the air, and began to leave the hall. She lay limp in his arms.

"Come on," he muttered to no one in particular. Malfoy picked her up and walked her to her room.

* * *

"Miss? Oh. Mr. Draco. So sorry," a small house elf whispered. "I didn't know you were busy, sir," the elf timidly bowed.

"What's the message?" Malfoy asked, seeming quite bored. He had been massaging Hermione's feet for the past twenty minutes, waiting for her to wake up.

"My mistress must come," she squeaked. "Her father is awaiting her."

"Her father?" He asked, and jumped up from the side of the bed. "Crap," he cursed under his breath. "Tell him that she will be down in a few. She needs to get ready," Malfoy said, as the little elf left. He gently shook her, and after a minute or two, he received a response.

Though, it wasn't the nicest response, for she rolled off the bed and landed on her stomach. She aimlessly felt around for the night table. Upon finding it, she pulled her alarm clock off the table, and it splintered to pieces.

"Hermione! Stop!" He yelled, and then he whispered, "Shh, calm down."

"I…" Hermione lay still on her stomach.

"Come on," he said, and gently picked up her hand, and brought her to a standing position. Slowly, he led her back to the bed and let her sit down. "Here, throw this on," he told her after he looked through her closet. He passed her a pair of tight jeans and a light pink tank top that said, 'Just ask me.' Then, he passed her a lightweight pink robe, because the weather was slowly growing colder. "I'll be outside if you need anything," he told her and quickly left.

* * *

"Hello, daughter," Voldemort greeted her and went to hug her, but she pushed him away.

"What do you want?" She glared at him.

"I wanted to tell you that you will be branded with the mark in October. On Halloween," he stated.

"I'm what?" she exclaimed.

"You are my rightful heir and my daughter. You will get the dark mark in October. Is that clear?"

"No. I will not," she defied him.

"You will. You have no choice."

"There is always a choice," Hermione wit-fully told him.

"Not here there isn't. You will go and get branded, is that clear?"

"No."

"You are forcing me, Hermione." He gave her a warning look, and then harshly said, "crucio." Hermione started to twitch, but about thirty seconds into the spell; she sent a gust of wind at him, destroying his aim. With that, she turned and left the room.


	8. The Hearing

**Chapter 8**

Sometime in August, Hermione received an owl from the Ministry of Magic. It stated:

Miss Granger,  
Since two families have claimed the right to 'add' you into their families. There will be a hearing on August the 22nd at 2 o'clock between the families. The two families include:

The Malfoy Family  
AND  
The Weasley Family

We believe that lately you have been staying in Diagon Alley, and we would like you to stay there until the current situation is compromised.

Sincerely,  
Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic

'_Oh no,'_ Hermione thought. _'I told the Weasleys no. Don't they understand that?'_ She asked herself as she walked out of her bedroom in Malfoy Manor. She wasn't actually staying in Diagon Alley like she told the Weasleys, but her father had rented a room under her name to use as his headquarters.

"Draco?" Hermione called to Malfoy as he turned out of his room (which happened to be right next to her own).

"Yes?" Draco asked her impatiently. (His friends were waiting downstairs).

"I need to talk to you," Hermione said.

"Can it wait?"

"No. August 22nd is today."

"I know the date, Hermione. Is it your birthday or something?"

"No. But I just received THIS in the mail." She waved the letter in the air in front of him. His face had a puzzled look on it. waved the envelope in front of his face. He gave her a puzzled look. Hermione continued, "THIS is a letter from the Ministry of Magic. It says that there is a meeting on AUGUST 22nd at 2 o'clock. If you haven't noticed, two o'clock is in twenty minutes. Do your parents know anything about this?"

"I don't think so…" Draco's voice drifted off because Hermione had started to run down the stairs to look for Narcissa.

When she finally found her, Narcissa was in the living room talking to Blaise and Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle were busy talking on the other side of the room.

"Narcissa?" Hermione didn't wait for a reply. "You do know that you need to be in the Ministry in fifteen minutes, don't you?"

"What?" Narcissa exclaimed. "Why?"

"There's a hearing about who is going to house me."

"Okay, let's go," Narcissa replied and told Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle to leave the house. Then, she side apparated with Hermione and Draco to the Ministry.

* * *

Hermione, Draco, and Narcissa walked into the Wizengamot at the same time. Hermione just happened to be holding Draco's hand and whispered something in his ear when Narcissa exclaimed, "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley! Ron, Ginny, how nice to see you again." She was trying to fake a smile, but it didn't work very well.

Hermione glanced away to look at Ron and Ginny. Then she looked directly at Ginny and directed her thought to Ginny, _'Hey! What's up?' _

Ginny looked as though she'd seen a ghost. Hermione and Draco cracked up at the site of Ginny's face.

"Miss Granger?" Fudge asked as he sat down in the judge's seat.

"Yes sir?" Hermione responded.

"I would like you and the other students to sit in the back of the room."

"Mrs. Malfoy, please sit in the chair on your left. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, on your right. First, we are here to discuss who Miss Granger…"

"Miss Riddle," Hermione muttered. "Miss Riddle."

"… will be taken home with. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? I would like you to go first. Please state why she should be under your care," Fudge told them.

"Well," Mr. Weasley stated, "Hermione has been coming to our home during the summer for the past five summers and has grown into the family. She is one of us and right now we are the closest thing to a family for her."

"Okay, Mrs. Malfoy? You do the same."

"Sir, her parents wrote in their will that if anything happened to them, she would return to her true parents," Mrs. Malfoy told Fudge.

"What?" Ron asked Hermione. "The Malfoy's are your parents?"

"No. Just listen," Hermione whispered. Malfoy just sat there next to Hermione thinking.

Hermione accidentally tapped into Draco's thoughts. _'If mother doesn't tell them about the Dark Lord being her father, how is she supposed to prove it?'_ He turned to look at Hermione, whom wasn't looking at him but was talking to Ron about their adventures last summer in the Department of Mysteries. _'She looks so hot when she sits like that. So innocent…' _

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed. "Did you really mean that? What you just said?"

"Hermione? He didn't say anything," Ginny informed her.

"You didn't?" Hermione asked with a puzzled look on her face. Then she sent him and only him a message via thoughts. _'Didn't you just say something about me being hot?'_

_'Umm… no,'_ Draco answered. _'I didn't say it…at least not out loud.'_

_'Did you think anything like that?' _Hermione thought.

_'Not about you.'_

_'Oh.' _

After a few minutes of complete silence, Draco forgot about trying to guard his thoughts. He hadn't taken occulmency yet. (Voldemort was supposed to teach him in next year)._ 'She is so hott. I can't believe that I've been mean to her all these years.' _Hermione smiled, but didn't interrupt his thoughts. _'I wonder why she's smiling. Her smile is like the sun. It brightens everything and everyone around it.' _

Hermione interrupted his thoughts. _'Are you thinking about me again?' _

'_Uhh… yes?' _He thought back knowing that she already knew.

'Awwe. That's so cute,' Hermione teased him. He glared at her. _'Sorry, just kidding.'_


End file.
